286. We are not okay, but we will be

Well, I am going to pick politics. But before you click away screaming, I hope you stay with me on this one.

Although my conclusions are things you have heard before (which means you’ll either love them or hate them), remember – this is Jenny. It isn’t just about the destination and stating my personal conclusions. It’s about how I reconciled the thoughts in my head that influence the ultimate actions and viewpoints I have.

In other words, that means one of two things, or a combination of both. An esoteric ramble or a rant. Let’s call this one an esoteric rant!

Even if you hate the destination, maybe you’ll find the journey interesting. Probably not, but, oh well. It was important to me to make it abundantly clear where I stand politically. When the crap ultimately hits the fan, I don’t want there to be any doubt as to where I stood.

For readers outside the U.S., I hope you find my take on this interesting and clarifying. For those in the U.S., well, damn it, just vote!

WHAT DO I STAND FOR?I stand for democratic principles – principals that have been the hallmark of what it means to be an American since the founding of our nation. Yes, there were times and are times when our actions stand in contrast with those principles. But the ideals of democracy have been so valued and sacred to Americans that they always push us towards fully embracing those principles for everyone.

And when those ideals push us, it is always uncomfortable for those being pushed, but short of our Civil War, no group of Americans betrayed their country and pushed back in civil war. Of course, in that war, it was our government pushing democratic principles on the South. What if it were the other way around? What if it was the people pushing democratic principles and the government pushing back? And wouldn’t it be ironic if the government that was pushing back was in power because of the South? Wow, that would be some interesting fiction.

Oh well, that would never happen in a democracy. In a democracy the government is representative of the people. Hold that thought.

PARTY AFFILIATION?
I was a Republican for quite some time. The GOP I was first exposed to was billed as the party with the ideals of Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt. I was taught to think that was still the case. Once I took the time to question things and seek my own answers, something clicked in me. Those ideals were not the ideals of Reagan, Bush I or II, and certainly are not the ideals of the right-wing extremist party of Trump. Those ideals still existed, but they now existed somewhere else. Consider that I am for these ideals:

The spirit of our people is the strength of our nation.

America does not prosper unless all Americans prosper.

Government must have a heart as well as a head.

Courage in principle, cooperation in practice, make freedom possible.

These are the ideals in the platform of the Democratic Party… oops, did I say Democratic Party? I meant, the Republican Party. However, it is from the GOP circa 1956. Yes, the GOP once was the progressive party. The Democrats of that time were controlled by the “Dixiecrats,” the Southern Democrats who basically molded their behavior around that of a modern-day plantation owner. Scum every one of them.

What changed?

CHANGE 1 – PARTIES FLIP (late 60’s/early 70’s)Kennedy was a new type of Democrat – progressive on social issues. Nixon was a new type of Republican – one who is willing to suspend the mechanisms of democracy in order to win for himself. And his aide, Pat Buchanan, saw an opportunity to bust the Democrats strong hold in the South.

They saw the South as easy prey. Southerners had a long history of voting against their self-interest if it meant they got to hold on to their racism. The new GOP would see to it that they catered to that racism and continued the racist policies of the Dixiecrats.

They also made a bet. They needed the religious vote, especially among Catholics who at the time voted overwhelming for Democrats. How could they get these people to switch their votes and abandon their self interests? Abortion! They would see to it that anti-abortion became a lynch pin in their platform. What? You thought they did this on moral grounds? No, it was strictly a political play.

Still needing another issue, the polls told them that gun ownership could be as emotionally charged as abortion. So GOP went all in on scaring Americans that Democrats would take their guns and they’ve kept up that scare ever since.

Those bets paid off. By the start of the 1980’s, the South had stopped electing racist, corrupt, Dixiecrats, and started electing racist, corrupt, Republicans. Thus the great southern tradition of voting against ones self interests continued. As long as Bubba got to keep his racism, keep his guns, and push an anti-abortion view, they would give up on education, infrastructure, healthcare, etc. The South remains at the bottom of practically every metric that measures wealth and prosperity and at the top of practically every metric that measures government hand outs.

Yep, them Southerners are basically economic socialists sucking off the government teat and they don’t even know it. Hey, but at least Georgia still makes it hard for African-Americans and Latino’s to vote, Mississippi has prisons overflowing with African Americans who are used as a (slave) labor pool to do work for pennies an hour, and Kentucky joins six other Southern states as being down to their last clinic that can perform safe abortions. Yee-haw!!

There was a problem. While the GOP continued what Nixon started, there were still plenty of GOP leaders, mostly outside the South, that provided some balance to the party. Over time, these GOP leaders became to be ridiculed as “moderates.”

CHANGE 2 – PURGE THE GOP MODERATES (2008)In 2008 the tea-baggers happened (Tea Party movement). They ousted the moderates in the GOP.

Lyin’ Ted Cruz is a great example. Although David Dewhurst wasn’t much of “moderate,” he was too much of one for the extremist right. The extremists tapped Cruz and heavily funded him for a seat in the Texas legislature. He first had to run hard against well respected and fellow Republican, David Dewhurst. Cruz did so by calling out Dewhurst as “a moderate.”

That label was used over and over by these new extremists to unseat moderate after moderate, in elections throughout the country. Cruz beat Dewhurst, then beat the Democrat candidate and joined the Texas legislature. Cruz was then tapped by the extremists tea-baggers who funded him to now run for a Senate seat. He went about winning it much the same way – calling any potential GOP opponent a “moderate.”

CHANGE 3 – VOTER SUPPRESSIONI don’t need to state much as there is so much already out there on this. Gerrymandering, voter suppression, and now, outright hacking, has become an important tool for the GOP to maintain power. None of these efforts would be championed by the GOP if the electorate were likely to vote GOP.

CHANGE 4 – RISE OF MAGA/FACISM (2016)Trump leveraged his celebrity to take his message beyond the South, to mostly blue-collar workers everywhere. They were most at risk for being misled and Trump exploited that.

Truth has no home with him. Every speech is full of lies, reinforced by his mouthpieces, reported as fact by Fox, and magnified by his Russian troll-bot allies. Want to track his lies as he tells them? Follow @ddale8 on twitter.

Trump knows that people will believe a big lie sooner than a little one, and repeat it enough and people will believe it. Trump knows you never allow the public to cool off; never admit fault or wrong; never concede any good in your enemy, never accept blame.

Did you know those prior two sentences are directly from a psychological profile prepared by the United States Office of Strategic Services? They were, but it wasn’t a profile on Trump. It was a profile on Hitler.

In two years the GOP went from bad to worse. Imagine where it will be in just one more year if left unchecked? Today it is completely corrupt, indecent, and immoral. Anyone affiliated or supporting the party is complicit and will carry this shame through history. They have disgraced this country and are a danger to our democracy and values. And those aren’t just my words. That was taken from Steve Schmidt, a former GOP strategist and echos many of the sentiments of those who once called themselves members of the Republican Party.

I am for humanity, decency, diversity, equality, compassion, justice, (the true “law and order”). My anti-GOP feelings are the by-product of the fact our president and the GOP are the opposite all of those things.

CHANGE 5 – TBDConsider your options if –

If someone doesn’t value evidence, what evidence are you going to provide them to prove they should value it?

If someone doesn’t value logic,what logical argument would you provide to show the importance of logic?

If someone doesn’t value compassion, what appeal to compassion would you make to resonate with their capacity for compassion?

If someone doesn’t value justice, what rule of law would you cite to show the need for justice?

If someone doesn’t value the principles of an American democracy, what patriotic feeling can you evoke in them when their sense of patriotism is numb to the violation of those principles?

I can point to specific events where the GOP hasn’t valued evidence, logic, compassion, justice, and American democracy, where their base has applauded each and every event. I’ll let you fill in those events for yourself because frankly, there are too many to cite.

I believe we are at the point that you can no longer appeal to facts, logic, compassion, justice, or principles of democracy when dealing with MAGAts and Facists.

As the fascists have accelerated the pace to control the courts, the justice system, and the voting booth, consider this

Once the mechanisms of democracy are so undermined that the views of the majority no longer have a voice, what is left for that majority to do in order to be heard?

Minority rulers who are driven to stay in power at all costs must suppress freedom in order to maintain control. Minority rulers, whether a person or a party, don’t stay in power in a true democracy. History is not kind to countries that have had minority rule.

So what’s next? I don’t know. Hopefully it is decided at the ballot box where true democracies decide such things.

One side bet I have — countries like Venezuela better watch out. Trump needs a war and he doesn’t do things unless the fix is in. North Korea and Iran are too messy. Aha! Pick a fight with a much smaller military, and something closer to home to really increase the “fear factor.” If I were a bookie, I’d be giving the odds on favorite as being Venezuela. And the best time to stoke the flames of war, oh, about mid-2020 should do it. Sooner if an impeachment conviction is looking likely.

Whether you like the candidate or not, whether you consider yourself a Republican or not, this is the year I hope people vote straight ticket Democrat. Anything else is a slap in the face of all who have fought and died to uphold American principles of democracy. But frankly, I just want people to vote – assuming they haven’t been blocked from doing so and that systems aren’t hacked.

If our elected officials better reflect the values of the majority of Americans, then the right people will be elected, whatever those values may be. That’s how a democracy works. That’s how it will work here.

My concern isn’t that it won’t work out. It will. My concern is how many MORE people are going to have to be oppressed at best, killed at worst, before we work it all out. The voting booth can keep that number to a minimum.

39 thoughts on “286. We are not okay, but we will be”

Hi Jenny. Thanks for your great blogs. I like the lifestyle but also your concern for J. In addition: Thanks for the political blog. For a Canadian it was an eyeopener. Wish we could meet over coffee (or whatever..)

Jenny Hope you are well and holidays find you and your family fulfilled. Thank you for words of inspiration, joy and sorrow as you find your way on your journey. Your words have given me much comfort. Thank you again and hope to hear more of Jenny’s Spirit. Andi

So glad you are okay. I’ve been concerned about you especially after your having surgery. Hope you are feeling strong and optimistic about the New Year. Many of us have missed You and look forward to your next post (but no pressure). Take care.

As a Brit who has read your entire blog I must say that you are still able to surprise me. I have been warmed by your openness and Southern charm. I have sometimes worried that your drive to feed your desire to submit and serve your marriage has taken you too deep into a place that should you ever wish to pull back, might leave you with an irreplaceable void. I have been aroused by your exploits and forced to consider the way we make and conduct our relationships by your insightful words. In short I am a big DD Jenny fan. I also find that as a Brit there are so many values and cultural norms that we (personally) share, but so many ways in which as nations we are drastically different.

I found your analysis of American politics to be far clearer than anything that the BBC has offered me. As you know, we are blessed with two-party politics and a flawed electoral system over here too. My view is that people in the west are so fed up with silly little boys playing silly little games in total oblivion, or worse, disregard for the lives of real people… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55fqjw2J1vI Hence the Trump and Brexit Backlashes against inadequate politicians in a desperate hope that someone will actually do something.

When I heard Mr Trump’s useful suggestion that once again an atrocity might have been averted had there been an armed guard — at a naming ceremony, I thought of you. I have only ever met kind genuine Americans and must tell you I have heard and read all the arguments but any Brit seeing someone in possession of a firearm would have pretty much the same thing to say. ‘What you got that for? — You could hurt someone with that!’

We are indeed very different nations but thanks to my American friend I have a lot more background.

I sincerely hope that you get what you want in the mid terms because this man needs to be stopped. Thank for all your thought provoking writing.

Thank you for all your thoughtful words. It is sad that when i wrote this post, 11 people were enjoying their families and going about their day, unaware they Kyle be the next victims of our president’s hate-filled, fear-mongering message. Worse yet, there are more out there like those 11. And everyone who votes GOP shares the guilt.
And as for my DD journey- no venture too deep at this point, and even if we “lightened up” or felt a need to stop, i know i don’t have a single regret. It’s been a revelation of deeper love, purpose, joy, and excitement. I guess if those feelings went away, i would feel a void, but better to have experienced those feelings for a time, than to have never felt them.
Thank you again. It is very satisfying to hear my words and experiences have at least given you some fodder for consideration in conducting your relationship. Very curious in what ways I may have nudged a conversation, behavior, or even a kink.

Spam and trolls maybe, but not yet. The blog crowd tends to be more civil than say, Twitter folks. Also i think readers mindset is in kink, and that may dampen their desire to jump into the political fire. So far it’s been quiet, which is fine by me. Thanks!

I can remember a time when election time came around, candidates spent more time debating the issues, talking about how they could fix the things that were screwed up, and without any real mudslinging. Today, I see ads for candidates for the mid-term elections and the politicians involved are still making promises they aren’t likely to be able to keep… and slinging more dirt, mud, and feces like those apes in “2001: A Space Odyssey.”

And I wonder what we’ve devolved into. I’ve wondered for years now if politicians have forgotten – and conveniently so – that they’re supposed to speak for the people who voted them into office and not be so worried about their own, personal agendas that only serves to keep their stranglehold on their respective offices.

I’ve seen a sitting president just tell bald-faced lies, insists that all news stories about the lies he’s telling are fake, is suspected of a crime that might be treason and everyone seems to know he’s lying and guilty of some – or a lot of – improprieties… and nothing is being done and what is being done is crawling along so slowly that they may as well not be doing anything.

Republicans were once the more progressive party and they’ve now lost their original intent and way and the message they send is that if you’re not among the rich and wealthy, you don’t matter and the government of the people, by the people, and for the people isn’t going to lift a finger to help those who needs to be helped.

And now, someone who apparently doesn’t like Democratic liberals is mailing live pipe bombs to notable Democrats, including a former president and vice-president (who happens to live where I do, by the way). The current president, instead of being outraged about such shit is ranting and raving – again – about the media and as if they’re the ones mailing live bombs and putting a lot of people’s lives in danger… and almost as if it’s okay to mail people live pipe bombs.

While many of us have not forgotten what it means to be an American, there are many who have forgotten what it means to serve the American people.

Politicians have always done what they felt they needed to do to be re-elected. To that end, voters are ultimately responsible for who was put in office. Voters respond to lies, so guess what, more lying. The difference is we have Faux News validating the lies, and certain people so hungry to believe them (because of their bias’), that now the lies can be bigger. And now GOP isn’t stopping at just old fashion political falsehoods, but voter suppression, severed gerrymandering, vote fixing, etc. to me, the worst thing isn’t GOP control IF that represented the majority view. The worst thing is that is represents a minority viewpoint and thus we are headed for violence as that is the last tool a minority party had to try and stay in power, and eventually is the only tool left for the majority to use to take back power.

It’s not the only, but it is the final one if all peaceful avenues are blocked and feared permanently so. Add to it, it becomes the response to the violence that is escalating and coming from the Reich-wing as they feel more emboldened. My fear is it will start with something small and something from an already disenfranchised group…blacks, Hispanics, LBGTQ…and Trump will look to make an example of the first ones to fight back. He will simply wipe them out, blame the left, and his base will cheer. Gloomy, but i believe that’s what is at stake this election. People enjoying their family today will be dead before 2020 and don’t even know it, because of what our idiot in chief is going to do.

What an interesting blog. The uk has its own political issue at present (well in all honesty many but one big one) and that’s Brexit. The country voted to leave the European Union, but it was a close vote. The campaigns were misleading in many ways and the actual things that people expected from leaving not very clear. I think most people wanted to control immigration because we have so many people coming in that it’s a strain on the country; that they didn’t want to be governed by the European Parliament and courts, but that they did want to have good trade relationships. The deadline isn’t far away and they haven’t sorted it out yet! Hey ho. One thing is for sure. We the public will not have the full story because it doesn’t benefit the government to tell us and I also think that for the most part the people in power have a “they wouldn’t understand it anyway” attitude to giving out information… 🤔

Truth isn’t really that difficult to determine. In fact, those who wish to do harm hope people can’t tell fact from fiction. Unfortunately it just takes a little fact checking and for one to consider the credibility of the source.

This could easily be a playground. To say that I don’t like the current CIC is more than fair but I also have a beef with leadership across the spectrum. What I don’t have a problem with is what you wrote. I appreciate that you took the time and made the effort to exercise your soapbox and share your reasoning. Thank you ma’am.

Of course I’ll give you more than just a chance! Share your thoughts, whether they agree with mine or not. While i understand the reasons of feeling leery of both sides, we are at a point their actions can not be equivocated. Only one side is usurping the constitution, looting out treasury, conspiring with our enemies, and oppressing their citizens. Those actions make it easy for me to hold my nose and vote for a particular Dem i am not fond if, and easily vote for those that i am fond of.

I can point to those actions and activities on both sides with ease. I don’t for a reason. Neither is functioning well in their intended role. Neither is serving the purpose for which they were sent and neither presents a path towards the ideal that created their position. By focusing on a current leader in the race to the bottom we create a self-fulfilling beast. So, instead, I stand back and point at the lot.

Having been a wonk on this since youth (yep, a weirdo), I have spent the last 20 years watching the overall strategy and tactics while dismissing immediate engagements. It is from that viewpoint that I am concerned. Were every “conservative” to lose, we would have a problem. Were each to win, we would have a problem. The motion of the pendulum had become unsteady in an unsettling way.

Had time to write today and came here pondering doing so. Now methinks I shall attempt a point I thought about recently and see if my head holds out. Thank you for the inspiration ma’am!

My point is there are few conservatives left in the way that term applied pre-2000. There is almost exclusively far right wing bankrolled by foreign interests funneling money thru PACs and organizations like NRA. Clearly there are no angels in politics, but our choice is not between the lesser of two evils. It is between deplorable people, driven by insecurity and self-righteousness, and a very diverse group ranging from blue-dog Democrats to Democratic-Socialist. That’s always been a weakness of the Dems — they are so diverse, they don’t have a laser focused message. Whereas GOP demands strict adherence to their top-down managed platform. If you don’t conform, you aren’t funded. The result is a party with a singular focus, and unfortunately, that focus is full of hate and oppression, offensively wrapped in our flag and the Bible.

One more point i want to make regarding the stark differences in the two parties. Only one doesn’t represent the views of the majority of Americans. Only one has obliterated a regard for truth for competence. Only one has resorted to race baiting, and then add to all this, the treasonous actions of colluding with an enemy. If someone is willing give to overlook the racism, they may but be racist, but they are okay with racism, which is not okay to me
And what if the other party? They just want to make it easier to access healthcare and education and make sure we have infrastructure such as roads. Yeah, those things cost money (taxes), but we’ve demonstrated we can afford it. Just take the tax cuts alone and we could have wiped out all student debt. So i don’t buy that there equal activities and actions of both sides. Sure, there will be some questionable acts in the left, but not hateful, oppressive, racist, acts and acts the undermine our democracy.
So while the Dems may not be the ideal “home” it’s a lot more American than the “home” provided by GOP.

I’m going do this anonymously rather than linking to my blog because I don’t do ‘direct’ politics online. Satire yes, rants no. But I love your rants. Just read this article today in Esquire which shows the hypocrisy of Republicans who have sold their souls to remain in office. https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a23471864/devin-nunes-family-farm-iowa-california/ Growing up as a progressive, neither party has ever served my interests and likely never will. From Politico comes this article about The Villages, Florida which has the potential to create a permanent Republican state. https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/06/18/florida-senior-citizens-vote-election-2018-218758 One of the ironies however, is the Federal Government, through Medicare, Medicaid, the Veterans Administration, Social Security and military pensions and others, funnels billions of dollars annually to residents who condemn such entitlements for anybody else. From the local newspaper, this quote: “The number of beneficiaries in all three ZIP codes[of The Villages] totaled 71,020 residents who qualified for monthly benefits of about $108.8 million or more than $1.3 billion in annual payments.” {Full disclosure: My spouse receives Social Security Disability and Medicare, without which, we would have difficulty living anywhere’} As much as the past still haunts the South, the Corporate sleaze that decimated the Rust Belt gave rise to Trump and his anti-globalization platform. Politics and business have always had a kinky bondage thing going on. Whipping the public is the least of their sins when you consider the pile of cash the so-called ‘liberal’ tech companies are squatting on rather than working to solve the homeless problem among many other issues. It’s only a matter of time until Apple, Facebook, Amazon etc, pull out like the manufacturing companies did decades ago, and go where labor is cheap and taxes are even lower. Steel, textiles, coal, appliances; none of that is ever coming back, no matter what POTUS boasts. Those high-paying, union jobs, are gone for good. Ross Perot was right. I could go and on, but lastly: How about that touching reunion btwn Trump and Cruz? Is there no more edifying sight than seeing the craven grovelling depths to which a career politician will sink when seeking reelection in a state dominated by Republicans?

Thank you so much for the thoughtful response and further insights into the hypocrisy of it all. The states with the highest taxes are subsidizing all the benefits that flow to the states with low taxes, and like you point out, those states receiving all these benefits demonize those very benefits that keep their citizens from starving. I am a southerner, born and raised, but i admit, we really are dumb as a lot. I could weave religion as playing a role in that but that’s a whole other rant. Hee hee. But its no coincidence that the regions we are talking about are also known as the Bible Belt. And here’s some simple hypocrisy in action. Raphael “Ted” Cruz called out Beto saying he was using Beto (a nickname he had since a child) to appeal to Hispanics. Gee, Raphael, why you go by Ted? Anyway, thanks again.